Apparatus and method for treating sausage casings



Dec. 28 19.26.v

w. F. HENDERSON ET AL APPARATUS AND METHODl FOR TREATING SAUSAGE CASINGS Filed April 14, 1926 [www lll

Patented Dec. 2.8, v1926-.l

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

WILLIAM r. HENDERSON AND HAROLD E. DIETRICH, ork omesso; xLLINoIs, AssIGNons To. :ma vIsxING conronArIoN, or RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,V a conrom- TION OF VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS AND METHOD ron TBE'IING sAUsAGE cAsINGs.,

lApplicationl tiled April M y 1926. Serial No. 101,958.

This invention relates particularly to :t method and ap a'rats for treating sausage easing's, or the ike,composed of'cellulose, 0rcellulose hydrate. f

The primary object ofthe invention is the'l production of an improved'sausage casing which can be kept in stock for a long period, without deterioration, which is thin-walled and strong, which can be made of uniform predetermined diameter and which'can be used successfully in a packing house and does not require the use of a lubricant to cause the casing to slip easily and smoothly from the horn during the operation o f fill-v ing the casing with meat." i f A fur her object is'to provide an artificial casing of this character which, while subs tantially dry and possessing great strength,

' nevertheless contams a hygroscopic ingredient in just suiiicientqu'antity to maintain a desirable degree of moisture in the casing. so that the casing .will be pliable and free from brittleness and possess the necessary toughness to ,permit the casing to be stuffed tightly without bursting.

' It may be stated preliminarilyfthat a cellulose casing which is wet, orquite moist, will'not slip readily over the surface of the stuffer horn,but tends 'to .cling rmly to the lsurface-of the horn.

such a casing, if bone dry, isi'liable to crack 'or tear, and cannot be handled advantageously. Moreover,- it has been found im-v portant, in drying vcasings ofthis character.

- to .effect the drying operation while the cas-v ing is maintained in extended `condition ywithin asuitable conningwall, which pref'- erably is porous, or foraminous, to facili tate the drying operation. The 'presentinve'ntion accomplishes thel important result here indicated.' v y Methods of producing viscose -for producing' 'a cellulose casing, `and then extruding and, if desired,drawing,fthe viscose to vform a casing, areknown. V A-method of extruding -a viscose tube {andsubjectingit to .a pulling 4action during'the period of extrusion is described in. a previous application of. William" F.v Henderson, Serial No. 630.594, filed. April 7, '1923. -By such n method,- it is possible to produce'a tube having an veXceexdingly thin' lWa1l,was, for examgrams-of water containing. 40 gramsof alkali are added. When this is well mixed, more-water is added until the total weight is 8440 grams. After the mixing is complete, the viscose is poured into jars, sealed,-

and placed in the vrlpening room until it is ready for use. y

Material prepared as described above may beV introduced into suitable apparatus and extruded in the form. of a'tube, the extruding operationbeing carried on conjointlly,'if desired, with 'a pulling, or stretching, operation to form a very thin-'walled casmg. The casing, as it is extruded, maybe sub- 'jected to the action of a coagulating uid,

and may4 then be passed through 'purifying baths, audit willthenbe ready for 'treatment in accordance with the process to be described herein.

65 `product is dumped into a mixer and 1500 vThe accompanying drawing illustrates novelapparatus suitable for carrying out the improved casing-treating process, which is designed to provide a nlshed sausa' e casing which can be immediately filled wi meat, -or which can be'keptin storage-for` an yindefinite -period without deterioration, and stued to-meet requirements.

In the drawings, Fig. lfrepresents la vertical sectional view of apparatus' for expressing from the sausag'ecasing the liquid which itcarries from the' puri'fymg bath, immersing the casing in a dilute solution of glycerin, and expressing from the casing the excess glycerin solution; Fig. `2, a broken ver# .tical sectional view of suitable drying apparatusg' Fig. `3, ay vertical 'transverse sectionalview takenas indicated at line of Fig.' 2; Fig. 4, a brokensectional view of the advance end portion of the sausage -casing while it is inflated within a suitable confining tube; Fig. 5, a fragmentary view illustrating the manner in which theadvance end of a wet casing may be secured to the rear end ofa dried casing so that the Wet casing will beA drawn into the confining tube through the medium of the dried easing while ,the latter is being withdrawn from the-confining tube; and Fig. 6, -an end elevational view of the confining tube with a portion broken away. Y i

In the illustration given, A designates a vat containing a fluid adapted to introduce an ingredient of .hygroscopic character into the material of the sausage casing, which is designated 1', said fiuid beingpreferabl va solution of glycerin'and' water; B esignates a pair of rolls through which the casing is drawn from the last purifying bath; and C designates a -pair of rolls for.

expressing from the casing the excess glyc-l erin solution asthe casing emerges from the l bath, which is designated 2. The casing is guided over a-roll 3 -andunder a roll 4.-

` in passingthrough the vessel A.

Also,- in the illustration given,vD designates a drying chamber which may be conveniently thirty-five to fifty feet in length; E, a casing-confining tube preferably composed of an open-weave fabric, such as voile, said tube being suspendedfrom a-strip-like support E depending from the to -wall of .6 and 7 which may be lifted to provide openings 6a and 7a for convenience in introducing and removing the sectionspof the -sausage casing.

.The casing-confining tube E preferably is lformed from a-strip of porous cloth which is folded `upon itself and has its margins 8 secured to the supporting stripv E by means of tacks 9. The loop of cloth may be eX- panded into tubular form by means of rings 10 applied at the ends. The endportion of the cloth'loop may be inserted through the ring and folded back overy the ring. as indicated at y11, and stitched, as indicatedat 12.

The blower F may-receive a supply of dry warm air from any suitable source (not shown) with which the pipe 13 connects. The pipe 13 is shown fitted with a fan'14.

Any suitable pressure apparatus G may be employed for iniiating the sausage casing'. In the illustration given, an air pressure tankv 15 communicating with a hose 16 through a ,valve 17 is shown. Thehose 16 is fitted at its free end with a small tube 18. As shown in Fig. 2, the rear end of the sausage casing is collapsed upon the tube 18 and secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by means of a Yrubber band 19.

At the advance end, the 'sausage casing has inserted therein a' small glass tube 20 having a'constriction 20, The advance end of the casing issecured 4to the constricted portion ofthe tube lby means of a string 21.

In Fig. 5, the left hand casing 1 is assumed to be a dry casing and theright hand tube 1 is assumed to be a' wet casing. In the first instance, a casing may be introduced in to the confining4 tube E by passing a lead string through the confining tube and using it todraw the casing into the tube. After the tube vhas thus been introduced and dried, the pressure is released by disconnecting the tube 18 vfrom the rear end of the casing. The dried casing then collapses, and 4.the string 21 at the'advance end of the fresh casing may be tied to'the rear end of the dried casing, so that the dried casing mayy be used as a 4meansfor drawing the wet casing into the confining tube.. It will be understoodv that 'each wet casing is preparatorily equipped with a tube 2O having a constriction therein; and it will be understood further that after the iwetcasing has been drawn in to the coniiningtube, the pressure apparatus is connected with the rear end of the casing and employed to maintain a gentle infiating pressure within the lcasing while the casingis being dried. The tank.

15 may receive a supply of dried moderately heated air from' any suitable source, not shown.

In praetice,it ispreferred tohave the confining tube E of 4slightly greater diameter than the 4diameter of the sausage casing as received from'the vat A. After the casing has been introduced within the confining tube, it is subjected to gentle infiating pressure' which preferably is such as to distend, or stretch,'the tube slightly. tion is limited, however, by the walls of the confining tube. The .distending action is sufficient to remove the possibility of any folds, or wrinkles, in the casing, and may be sufficient to slightly enlarge the` diameter of the casing, which tends'to further thin the casing walls.

The drying' action takes -place while th vzo It will be understood, therefore, that ,finished casings of 'different sizes may readily be produced from a given extruded casing, the sizeof the 4finished c-asing`bei'ngv deter'-y mined by the size of the confining tube. This feature, incidental to the process, is of 4marked practical advantage in the manufac-` ture'of casings. A stillmore inl'portant adl vantage, fromthe standpoint of the user, is that, regardless of the predetermined size selected forV the finished casing, the diameter may be made uniform. In this, connection, it may be stated vthat'` the natural intestinal casings (for example, sheep casings') not only lvary as takenfrom di'lferent animals, but, also, the casing from any one animal may Vvary considerably in diameter. As a result, it is the practice to grade intestinal casings roughly as tosize, but'any approximate uniformity of casings as4 a lot,`or of an individual casing throughout its length, is an impossibility.

As has been indicated, the excess-glycerin solution is expressed fromthe'c'asing by therolls C Aas the casing is drawn from the bath 2. While the' strength of the-glycerinsolution may vary Within certain limits, it is preferred touse about a 20% solution. The purpose is to leave incorporated inthe cellulose casing, evenly distributed, a very v small amount of glycerin after the drying operation. lThe very smallypercentage of glycerin which remains inthe casingfserves asa hygroscopic agent which attracts yfrom the atmosphere sullicient moisture -to keep the sausage casing pliable and moderately` tough. This will prevent the-'cellulose film from cracking easilywhen wrinkled orcrushed. vOnthe'other hand, it isl desirable to avoidfthe use of too much glycerin, as the Apresence of too much glycerin lwould ca use so much moisture to be attracted from. the atmosphere as to weaken the sausage casing and prevent theys'ausagecasing from slip ping readily from the horn during the 'stuif-` ing operation.-

When the dried sausage .casing is removed from the drier, it contains substantially` no free moisture. The drying operation is'. notl intended, however, to -remove water of composition., After the dried casing remains in the: air for a time, it becomes su'cietly moist to enable itto be used to best advantage inthe stuffing operation., The moisture. however, is not sensibly present.A That is, the casing does not lfeel wet, is pliable and moderately soft. The treatment is such as 'to preserve. the strength of the dried cellulosef y The -lengthof lthe section of sausage casing which is to undergo drying may' vary. It'has been found practicable to dry sections of -about thirty-five feet in length: and such sections lend themselves Well to the stuffing .l operation in the packing houses.A

desired, a ysection of about thirty-fiveA feet in length maybe shirredreadily upon a paper tube of about ten or twelve 4inches in length, ysuch a tube being adapted to be slipped upon the horn of a stalling machine and fed readily therefrom-during the stuffing operation. Owing to the very thin Wall and desirable flexibility of a casing prepared yin accordance With the present process, it is possible to load a comparatively short paper tube with a long length of casing, suited to economicall stuiling operations.

The drying operation may be carried on by two operatives, vone at each end of the drier. The doors 6 and 7 maybe vclosed Aduring the drying operation, and may be opened to enable 'the necessary manipulations to be made in withdrawing the dried casing and introducinga-wet casing. It has been determined thata casing can' be suit,-

ably .driedbymeans of the apparatus shown,

Within a period of about one minute, moderatelyheated air being circulated Athrough the drying chamber D." The use lof an open- Weave conti-ning tube E permits the Aescape .of moisture from the casing during the dry ing operation. VVhileit ispreferred to use a cloth tube, anysuitable porous, or foraminous,confining tube maybe employed.

While drying apparatus of the character shown', adaptedto the practice of the intermittent drying process described, serves the purpose very well, it Vwill be understood that any suitable form of drying and inlating Y l duction of an improved' artificial -casing which may be used vasa casing for sausages, lncludmg 'w1eners, etc. The improved casing may, Without injury, be com actlyf shirr'ed upon a' supporting tube adapte -to be applied to astuffer? horn.. The casing pos` sessesv such qualities that it willslip readily from thes ufer -horn,whereas a very moist, or wet. cel ulose filmjwill not do; this, but will clin geuite firmly to the supporting surface. The greaterstrength of a dry cas-- ing makes it possible'vto stui the casing' tightlyand full without causing the casing:

to bulge, or burst. vThe dry casing does not stretch, as does a wet one.V This Ainsures perfectly uniform fillingnwith no bulging whatsoever.` The possibility'of insuring stuffed casings ofv uniform diameter is an importantresult ofthe invention. The improvedcasings are very light Weight and are practically inert -under ordinary atmospheric conditions, and will 'not deteriorate. Distinct advantages are gained, therefore, in connection with storing and shipping. When the casing'. is taken from storage, for use in the packing house, it is ready to be filled in the condition in which the packer receives it. lVet, or very moist,- casings must be soaked up. Such ano eration is lunnecessary where the improve casings are used. Where animal casings are used, the hanks must be untiedl and thesalt soaked out Aofthe strands, and water must be'run through the casings before using. Such operations are unnecessary Where the improved cellulose casings are employed. As has been indi'- cated, the improved casings lend themselves to the practiceof mounting the casings on short dummy tubes which can readily be applied to stufferhorns. deal of time -in the packing room. For example, where an'an'imal intestine is used, more time is consumed indrawing the casing onto the horn than is used in stuflingthe casing.

The above-described process maybe used,

if desired, in treating anmal intestine sausage casings. That is, a sheep casing, for

example, may be treated lWith'a dilute glycerin solution andmay then be inflated and dried. In this case the use of the limiting tube maybeomitted with fairly satisfactory results. On the other hand, it is preferred to use the confining tube in treating animal casings since it is thus possible to secure uniform diameter, VThe glycerin acts as a soft` eningl agent, as it does with cellulose casings.

The' natural casings, treated asindicated,

can be used on paper tubes. Soaking the casings and' passing Water therethrough may be avoided, andthe labor in the packing house may be otherwise reduced.

,The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations shouldl be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly' as permissible, in view of the prior art.

What'we regard as new, and desire to secure; by Letters Patent, is:

.-1. The 'method of'treating casings ,for

sausages, etc.,-which comprises :A infiatmg the casing by pneumatic pressure within a limiting tube, and subjecting the casing toa drying operation while thus inflated. 2. The,methodof treating casings for sausages, etc., which. comprises: pneumatically infiatingt-he casing Within a limiting porous tube, and drying the casing while in `inflated condition'. p

The'method of treating'casings, which comprises: pneumatically distending the casing Within a limiting tube of slightly larger diameter, and drying the casing while thus distended,

This saves a great L 4. The method of treating casings, which ings, which comprises: inflatingrthe-casingunder moderate pressure sufficiently to slightly enlarge its diameter, while the casing` is confined against undue expansion Within a4 limitingtube adapted to permlt escape -of moisture, and 'passinga drying current of air, or the like, in contact with said tube.

7 The process of treating a casing, which comprlsesrconfining and infiating the casing within a porous textile tube, and circulating drying atmosphere in contact with said textile tube.

'8. The method of treating a sausage casing` which comprises: confining the casingv within a limiting porous tube, and passing .a drying current of air, or the like, through said casing,`under gentle pressure.

9. 4The process of treating a cellulose casing, which comprises: pneumatically dis-v tending the casing lwithin a porous limiting tube and 'subjecting the tube to a drying atmosphere.

10. The method 'of finishing a cellulose casing, which comprises: treating the casing with a dilute glycerin solution, expressing excess 'solution' from the casing, and drying the casing while it is inflated w a limiting surrounding wall.

11. The method 'of treating a Vcellulose casing as it comes from thel purifying'bath,

which comprises: expressingwfrom the casing the 4excess liquid of the purifying bath,

immersing 'the 'casing in a dilute glycerin bath, and pneumatically distending and drying'the casing while it is confined against undue distention.

v12.The method .of treating a cellulose casing, 1 which comprises:` introducingv `a length -of the casing into an open-ended limiting tube, and infiatin'g and'ldrying saidcasing. y

13.'The method of treating a cellulose casing, lwhich comprises: introducing a 'length' of the casing vintp -anopen-ended limiting tube, drying said casing, and with- A mit escape of moisture, and -passin ing, which comprises: securing one end of the casing upon a constricted tube adapted to caslng within al limiting tube adapted to pera current of a1r `into the other end of sai casing in suiiicient volume to maintainthe casing in. ldistended condition within said limiting tube while air escapesthrough said constricted tube. l

15. Apparatus for the purpose set forth, comprising a limiting tube having walls adapted to v hermit passage of. moisture, means for' in ating a cellulose casing within said limiting tube, and means for subjecting said limiting tube to the action of a drying atmosphere. v

16. Apparatus for the purpose set forth, comprisln va. drying chamber, means for passlng a ry current through said chamber, a limiting tube mounted in said chamber and prov1ded with'walls adapted to permit passage of moisture, andmeans for inflating ermit escape ofl air, introducing said` a .cellulose casing within said limiting tube. v17. Apparatus for the purpose set forth, comprismfg .a d ing chamber, a limiting tube of abric posed 'longitudinally in saidchamber, means for passing a drying current through said chamber, and means for maintaining in inflated condition within said tube'the casing which is to be dried.

18. In apparatus for the purpose set forth, an elongated dryingchamber provided on one side at its ends with .'doors, a limiting tube supported in said chamber alii provided with walls adapted to permit escape of moisture, means for assin a dryingcurrent of air through sai cham er, and means for maintaining in inated condition withinv said tube the casing which is to be dried. 19. The method. of treating a sausage cas-v ing, which comprises: incor ratin 1n the casing a small percentage o a hy 'roscopic WILLIAM F. HENDERSON. HAROLD E. DIETRICH.v

agent, and infiating' and drying the casing. 

